I live in Los Angeles and I'm lucky enough to write about the thing I love most: movies. I'm a graduate of Vassar College and Northwestern University and for 15 years I worked at Forbes mostly covering the entertainment industry. Although I've moved into the world of corporate journalism, I still contribute blog posts here.

Tom Cruise Tops Our List Of Hollywood's Highest-Paid Actors

Weekend word that Katie Holmes has filed for divorce from her husband of five years, Tom Cruise, left many unanswered questions. Who will end up with Suri? Was Scientology to blame? Why did Holmes file in New York instead of California? And how much money will the actress walk away with?

Now add this to the mix: by our count Cruise earned $75 million between May 2011 and May 2012, making him the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.

That money is going to play a crucial role in the divorce proceedings. Especially considering Holmes is asking for sole custody of Suri.

Cruise and Holmes reportedly had a prenup that will cover alimony, but according to divorce attorney Jeff Landers, prenups almost never include the cost of child support. In New York, child support is based on a formula: 17% of the couple’s total income, with each person paying a proportionate amount. But that doesn’t mean that Holmes is going to earn $9 million in child support alone.

“There are caps,” says Landers. “After $400,000 in earnings it’s up to the judge’s discretion.”

Still, the divorce is likely to hurt Cruise financially, and possibly career-wise. Rumor has it that one of the causes of the divorce is that Holmes wants to distance herself and her daughter from Scientology. The religion has long been a passion for Cruise, and sometimes a P.R. problem. His career first started to falter back in 2005 not just because of his couch jumping antics but also because of a very awkward interview he did with Matt Lauer in which he talked about Scientology and his mistrust of psychiatry and psychiatric drugs.

If Cruise is once again forced to discuss Scientology in public, it could hurt him at the box office.

But for right now, the actor is (at least professionally) on top of the world. Last fall’s Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol earned a whopping $700 million at the box office worldwide. Cruise got a nice chunk of the film’s profits. He also got paid well for the upcoming sci-fi film Oblivion, which is scheduled to hit theaters in April. Expect Cruise to do all he can to keep the divorce as amicable and quiet as possible.

Cruise’s huge year puts him $38 million ahead of the two actors who tied for second place on our list: Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam Sandler. We estimate that each star earned $37 million between May 2011 and May 2012.

The two couldn’t be more different. DiCaprio now focuses exclusively on adult-themed movies, and he gets paid well to appear in them. When the films score, they score big, like 2010′s Inception, which grossed $825 million at the global box office. But not every DiCaprio film is a guaranteed hit. Last year’s J. Edgar, which was directed by Clint Eastwood, failed to impress financially or critically. The film earned $80 million globally and failed to score any big Oscar nominations.

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Super Hero !! There are many fans of Tom Cruise in Nepal but in my view he is a actor nothing else. If i can get an opportunities I’m sure i can do it. Some people say he is Real Hero and sometimes people worship of him. At the end he is nothing just a matter of time. All he gain is Money and fame but besides of it he lose his agony and pride which is can get form his life partner.

I don’t have more money then him but I have pride, joy and I’m always free. So, i can do everything if i want wherever i go. But he can’t he sold him to many director or movie maker companies. He is a different type of actor but not hero. There are many other heroes who can left him back anytime.

Thats thru… Scientology is only power from ur on body. In ur self there is nothing. We al now, the day we dei al pwer is gone. And only the spirit wiil go out of ur body and back to God. Scientology did not now what the spirit realy can do for u and my, Spirit is power in a nother way. This spirit give life to ur body and give u back ur ung body and ur fases, The holly spirit is God, and the sønn is Jesus kristus, If u not understand the spirit then u must ask for it… Scientology, is only money and power. Aroganse and loock at ur self like a God. Buth God will punish them , belive my… Scientology will crasj ur life thil the and. U must bee very clever to understand that. Than u will go the wrng way in ur life, and cray….

no its not! I am a Christian who adores jesus Christ and fearsour Lord and I studied Scientology. It is only the study of behavior and decision making. It also studies the effect drugs have on our emotions, behavior and health. I advise you look at the 12 books created before you speak about something you dont kow about. The name itself says it is a Science. Scien- Tology

fans of movies allow this overl rich man to continue to earn 75m in ONE YEAR! it’s not fair! while the rest of us struggle for retirement, this movie star keeps raking in the millions. WE need to not allow this kind of bucks to paid to actors–we as patrons of fillms need to do a strike (reverse strike) 1: school teachers, nurses, social workers, caregivers all are so underpaid and this what we create in this machine

I feel very sorry for Tom. The time gos fast and he is now 50 years. Im a kristien women and i feel i want waarn tom, becose he loock like a nise man. I wan to sai to him that his life will bee very bad and he will maybee be very lonly thil the and. He have had treee wonderfull wife , and love is something God give a person. U can never fine love becose a relitshen tel u what life u are going to live. Tom must take care of him self and dont bee to arogant becose there is a God in haven looking at the life he live. We are al going to dei some day, and befor we dei life will tel as evrything of the end of the life evry people have been living. And somethingels, we can not go from women to women, we must have a moral to now what we are doing with people we are together with. I will say to u Tom, take care of people arond u, and understand, ho is the people realy loves u… I now one thing, there is a women in your life realy did loves u , and thar was Ur beutiful eksvife Nikole Kidman. I did realy crayd for her, and i did realy thanks Jesus Kristus, that day she did have her first baby. Im a women, and i have 8 children. The life is the must inporten thing. Its like a flower, always need wather. God in the name of Jesus is the only one to give a spirit to understand what im talking abouth. I wish u a good life. Irene..